The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

Seven Smart Ways To Help Out Your Exhausted Employees

Today’s employees often have heavier individual workloads than ever in the wake of routine budget cuts. Home life has gotten more challenging as well. As a manager or business owner, you shouldn’t ignore the exhaustion your workers likely feel as a result, or you could face a significant decline in productivity and an increase in office conflict. The good news is that there are some simple, effective ways to give your tired employees a hand:

1. Give them more shift flexibility or create a schedule lock.

For some employees, fatigue happens because their schedules are all over the map. For instance, you might have them work 5:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. one day and 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. the next. This is problematic because it doesn’t allow their bodies to establish a natural, consistent sleep rhythm. Locking them into one shift can help.

Other employees are fatigued specifically because the normal workday is out of sync with their natural patterns. For instance, they might be coming in from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. even though they are most mentally alert between 3:00 and 8:00 p.m. For these workers, a more flexible pattern might help. Letting them telecommute or splitting their shift are both options here.

2. Use more teams.

When workers are tired, it becomes very easy for them to miss details or forget points. If you pair people together or ask them to work in small groups, they can keep each other accountable so that nothing is missed. A team approach can also promote better efficiency so the workers can get out the door faster, as everyone is together in one place to brainstorm, ask questions or share resources.

Remember that teams work for transportation, too. Don’t let tired workers drive to or from work alone!

3. Let them take a nap.

Small pauses to recharge can be incredibly good for productivity and your bottom line. As reported by Scott Stump of “Today,” major companies such as Google and Proctor & Gamble are taking the positive results of nap studies (for example, those by the University of California at Berkeley and National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health in Atlanta) to heart. They are actively incorporating nap rooms, sometimes called “rejuvenation rooms,” and are experiencing nothing but growth.

4. Educate.

Some people on your staff will have fatigue problems simply because they are not educated about certain issues. For instance, they might not realize the effects that a late-night drink with caffeine can have, or they might not really understand how to tell if their sleep is really recuperative. Through memos, pamphlets, one-on-one conversations and general staff meetings, you can provide this wellness data to your entire workforce. Give facts about how being tired influences the company and how it quickly can spiral into a safety issue.

5. Be mindful of your heating and cooling.

Working in an environment that is too warm or cold presents an additional challenge to the body that drains energy. Make sure that the room is at a comfortable temperature and allow workers to make basic wardrobe adjustments (for example, adding a sweater) to meet their personal preferences without disruption. Check that the air is always fresh and flowing well, too.

6. Have a stricter overtime policy.

Although it’s nice to contribute to your workers’ financial stability through overtime payments, you need to communicate that a few extra dollars is simply not worth the risks that the excess fatigue from more overtime can bring — including personal injury on the job. Tired workers can make costly, reputation-damaging mistakes — think transferring money to the wrong accounts — because they didn’t get enough shut-eye. Cap overtime if you can and give it on an approval-only basis.

7. Put the right foods in the break room.

Most offices have the traditional vending machine full of chips and cookies, but these kinds of snacks don’t provide good energy. In fact, they can encourage sugar crashes, spiking blood sugar levels and then causing blood sugar to drop rapidly as the pancreas produces a load of insulin in response. Provide healthy sugars that fuel the brain in foods such as apples and bananas, along with sources of protein and good fat that keep blood sugar from spiking, such as Greek yogurt, lean deli meat and nuts.

Conclusion

Fatigue is bad for your workers physically, and puts your company in jeopardy if you don’t address it. Changes such as letting people take breaks for naps or limiting overtime are a huge step in the right direction. Although these modifications might require a little down payment, the increase in productivity from improved alertness should negate the expense of helping.

Brendon Schenecker is equal parts developer and CEO, which has led to array of tech-based startups and over 10 years of experience managing startup ventures. Brendon is currently founder and CEO of Travel Vegas, a technology-focused destination travel company.

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

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